HMS Sovereign (S108)

The HMS "Sovereign" (S108) is a nuclear powered fleet submarine of the Swiftsure class. Construction of the boat was begun on the 18th of September 1970 and she was launched on 17th February 1973 and commissioned on 11th July 1974. In 1976 HMS Sovereign played a role in Operation Brisk; the submarine surfaced at the geographical North Pole on 20th October 1976 as part of the exercise, testing navigational systems and equipment performance in low temperatures.

Sovereign underwent an extensive refit in the mid 1990s and was rededicated in January 1997. Cracks were discovered in the tail shaft during post refit sea trials and she was sent to Rosyth for 14 weeks of emergency repairs in June 1998 before returning to Faslane.

Sovereign was used for the perisher submarine command course in June of 1999 as well as other training cruises. She was part of the NATO exercise Linked Seas in May 2000, operating in the Bay of Biscay.

In the early 2000s Sovereign was out of service for some time due to reactor problems, a fault she shared in common with others of her class. Although she was back in full service by July 2005, the submarine was decommissioned as of September 2006.